Editorial: the inner beauty of the Lanthanides

by Deborah Collins

In November
2005, Jan Scholten published the first edition of Secret Lanthanides. For
those who have been making use of his findings on the periodic table in
homeopathy, gaining understanding of the Lanthanides in practice has been a
logical and welcome step, bringing into use many elements that have previously
not even been considered as remedies. It is, in fact, very timely for these
elements have a broad use in modern technology, such as lasers, optic devices,
and colour television. Accordingly, it seems fitting that they are now used as
remedies. In a short time, they have become indispensible in the treatment of
auto-immune diseases; those illnesses which have so often been outside the
reach of our homeopathic aid. Similar to the discovery of the Lanthanides
themselves, which were hidden away behind other elements, those patients
needing a Lanthanide remedy have a rather hidden quality. Their inner life
takes precedence over their outer life, and they tend to fight their own shadow
rather than projecting it onto the outer world. They are discovering and
developing their autonomy, or, as is the case in the remedies more to the right
of the periodic table, they are relinquishing their autonomy. This inner
wrestling can be part of auto-immune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis,
Crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus erythematodes. One can also
apply it to psychological auto-immunity such as self-mutilation. In a short
time, these remedies have become indispensible in the practices of many
homeopaths, who have found a means to treat previously intractable conditions.
As Jan writes in his article “10 years of Lanthanides”, these remedies are in
fact highly useful for many homeopaths themselves, since homeopaths often have
many typical Lanthanide qualities: self-reflection, inner searching, and an
aversion to external compulsion.

We will
probably find, as time goes on, that many patients treated with some success
with our more well-known remedies, such as Phosphorus or Sulphur, will in fact have highly curative
results if the remedy is tuned more exactly to the patient. The understanding
of the periodic table as a whole has facilitated a greater ease in the fine-tuning
of remedies, providing us with ways to utilise more aspects of the patient,
such as the family background, hobbies, and spiritual inclination. Knowing the
stages of the periodic table are imperative for finding a correct Lanthanide,
as this is probably the most effective way of differentiating these remedies.
Another excellent book for understanding the various stages, and which perfectly complements Jan's Secret Lanthanides, is Ulrich Welte’s The Periodic
Table in Homeopathy; The Silver Series (2010, Narayana Verlag).

The beautiful
results from the Lanthanides make it tempting to apply them in all cases of auto-immune
illness or to all alternative therapists, such as homeopaths. As Jan Scholten points
out, though, lanthanides are also strongly present in plant remedies such as
the Asteraceae (the daisy family, of which Arnica is a member). Here, too, we
see the lanthanide qualities of “sending the doctor away” and wanting to do
things in one’s own way. It remains therefore crucial to avoid knee-jerk
reactions that might send us towards a Lanthanide remedy, merely because the
patient has an auto-immune disease, or has a spiritual inclination. We also
need to ascertain what their particular form of “stuckness” is and whether or not
they actually need a remedy from the mineral kingdom. During an initial
case-taking, one can sometimes pick up hints of a lanthanide quality and yet,
find that it is only applicable as a remedy later in the treatment.

Despite the
great increase in curative possibilities and the excellent results, some
homeopaths are reluctant to make use of the Lanthanides, claiming that they have not
undergone traditional provings. Others
ask: “Why do we need more remedies when we don’t sufficiently know the ones we
already have?” Unfortunately, we homeopaths have not been consistently successful
in large areas of our practices, such as in auto-immune illness, which in fact necessitates
an ongoing development of our science. Understanding and applying the inherent
logic of nature makes it possible to prescribe even unknown remedies based on their position within a particular kingdom; that which is known for some members of a particular group can be extrapolated and adjusted to lesser-known members. Jan Scholten's work not
only increases our therapeutic capacities, it also presents us with the possibility to come closer to
the awe-inspiring principles of creation and follow the path opened by Hahnemann for the betterment of all and of our world.

Jan Scholten offers us two articles on the Lanthanides. The first article describes Lanthanide qualities
as such and how they are so often seen in homeopaths. He calls it “homeopathy’s
gift to homeopaths”, who have so often felt that they can heal their patients
but that homeopathy does not work for themselves. In the second article, he
highlights the use of one Lanthanide salts, Neodymium sulphuricum, pointing out
its usefulness especially in women who are struggling to find their autonomy
within their relationship: “a feminist remedy”. He gives us ten case examples of situations where Neodymium sulphuricum has
proved effective, so that we get a good feel for the remedy and its application.
A broad spectrum of cases is provided by several homeopaths who have extensive
experience with the Lanthanides: Ulrich Welte, Ramon Frendo, Patricia LeRoux, Alex
Leupen, Irina Shilova, Marie-Luc Fayeton, and Marguerite Pelt. One can also
browse through back issues of Interhomeopathy to find more examples of
Lanthanide prescriptions.

We hope this issue
will inspire those of you who are already making use of these remedies, to deepen
your knowledge of them and, hopefully, to send us some of your successful
cases! We also hope that those of you who have not yet looked into these
amazing remedies may be tempted to study and discover their ever increasing
significance in the world of today.

I don't use this system still but I'd like to study more about it because I believe in the invisible power of our body, of the mind, and of some other external powers. I'd like to invite all homeopaths to try it. Dr nimal Leetus

Last Edit: September 04, 2011, 07:38:44 by mache

Posts: 2

lantanidesReply #1 on : Sun September 04, 2011, 00:48:51

I really enjoyed this number of interhomeopathy! very usefull and interesting! Congratulations and thank you!